A private rail operator and the Spanish government have offered conflicting accounts of what caused Europe's deadliest train collision since 2013, according to local reports.
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what → offer → reports
At least 68 people have died, and dozens have been injured, after two high-speed trains collided in the Toledo region on Wednesday morning, local time.
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trains → die → morning
A train operated by the state-owned RENFE company struck the rear of another train operated by the private company Iryo, which was stopped on the tracks.
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which → operate → tracks
Spain's transport minister, Óscar Puente, said about 8:30am, the signalling system along a 63-kilometre stretch failed due to a computer malfunction, forcing all trains on that section to stop.
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system → say → section
According to Spanish masthead El Mundo, the private Iryo train had not resumed its journey yet because the state-owned control centre had instructed it to reset the train's system after the track signalling malfunction.
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centre → accord → malfunction
The reset manoeuvre "takes several minutes," and therefore Iryo "did not have authorisation to continue," sources from the company's management told El Mundo.
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sources → take → Mundo
However, Mr Puente said some of the six trains that were stopped after the signalling system failure had been ordered to continue.
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that → say → failure
Iryo maintains that it never received such an order and therefore kept the train stopped, El Mundo said.
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Mundo → maintain → train
Meanwhile, the control centre ordered the state-owned RENFE train to "resume its journey at normal speed," which would eventually collide with the rear of the stationary Iryo train further down the track.
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which → order → track
The RENFE train reaches speeds of up to 200 kilometres an hour.
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train → reach → kilometres
It is still unclear what speed the train was travelling at impact.
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train → travel → impact
Mr Puente said the RENFE train should never have been told to start moving again because a "stop signal" was active for that line.
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signal → say → line
"The decision to resume traffic while that system had not been restored belongs to the control centre, and the control centre … took the decision to resume traffic in circumstances that, from our point of view, are inexplicable," Mr Puente said.
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Puente → resume → view
In Spain, communications between train drivers and traffic controllers are recorded, and will become a key component of the investigation into what led to the collision.
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what → record → collision
In the interim, questions remain regarding what signal was given to which train, and at what times.
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signal → remain → times
Signalling system mid-replacement
The Madrid-Seville high-line, where this collision occurred, uses the Linienzugbeeinflussung (LZB) signalling system.
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collision → occur → system
The LZB continuously monitors train speeds and can intervene if limits are exceeded.
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limits → monitor → speeds
When the LZB safety system reportedly failed on Wednesday, the eight trains along the stretch of the track were asked to halt, moving the control centres to manual operation.
The events that came after are at this stage understood to be human error, and not directly caused by the LZB failing.
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that → fail → failing
However, the system is currently being phased out across Europe by the newer European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
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system → phase → System
The European Union says the adoption of the ERTMS system will increase "the speed of trains, the capacity of infrastructure and the level of safety in rail transport" by standardising train signalling across the continent by 2050.
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adoption → say → 2050
Local news outlets have reported that the stretch of track where the collision occurred was still being upgraded from LZB to ERTMS.
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collision → report → ERTMS
Union demands Puente's resignation
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Union → demand → resignation
The CSIF trade union in Spain has asked for Mr Puente's resignation.
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union → ask → resignation
In a post on X, the union said: "We ask the Government to respect the investigation and the presumption of innocence for the person in charge of Adif's traffic operations.
"
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We → say → operations
We demand that the minister assume his responsibilities instead of shamefully using a hardworking person as a 'scapegoat'."
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minister → demand → scapegoat
The CSIF raised concerns earlier this year after another collision between two high-speed trains outside the southern village of Adamuz in January left 46 dead.
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collision → raise → 46
That crash was Spain's deadliest train accident since 2013, when 80 people died after a train veered off a curved section of track outside the north-western city of Santiago de Compostela.
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train → die → Compostela
The Adamuz crash also occurred along the Madrid-Seville high-line, where Wednesday's accident occurred.
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accident → occur → line
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain would observe three days of mourning from Thursday, conceding it was "not acceptable" that two high-speed collisions could happen within months.
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collisions → say → months
Spain's high-speed rail network has received huge investment in recent years, becoming the second-largest in the world after China's and a source of national pride.
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network → receive → pride
About 26 million passengers used the network between January and August this year.
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passengers → use → January
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